Molding of dolls&#39; heads and the like



Jan. 7, 1936. L. J. GRUBMAN MOLDING OF DOLLS HEADS AND THE LIKE OriginalFiled Feb. 7, 1932 5 Sheets-Shea: l

INVENTOR 110 J. GRUBMAN ATTORNEYS 17o DIE CASTING MACHINE Jan. 7, 1936.L B AN 2,027,165

MOLDING OF DOLLS HEADS AND THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 7; 1932 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Tia;

INVENTOR LEO J. G R U BM AN ATTORNEYS Jan. 7, 1936. J. GRUBMAN MOLDINGOF DOLLS HEADS AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Feb. 7, 1952v INVENTOR LEO GRU BMAN ATTORNEYS Jan. 7, 1936. L. J. GRUBMAN 2,027,165

MO IJDING OF DOLLS HEADS AND THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 7, 1952 5sheets sheet 4 INVENTOR LEO J. GRUBMAN ATTORNEYS HEADS Ami THE LiKE.

MOLDING OF DOLLS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Feb. 7, 1932 1 $3 a m ml 09 H 1 J mm M 03 Na N 1 w G o U. Q mm mi EN 03 3 L wdpun 8T 09 0? N OINVENTOR LEO J. GRUBMAN ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 7, 1936 MOLDING F DOLLSHEADS AND THE LIKE Leo J. Grubman, Belle Harbor, N. Y., assignor toMargon Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkContinuation of application Serial No. 591,947, February 7, 1932. Thisapplication March 16, 1934, Serial No. 715,901

compressed by hand presses to a relatively light further and relatedfeature of my invention in- 10 pressure, the excess material escaping atthe cludes a preferably preliminary weighing-out or edges of the mold.No openings are left in either measuring of the molded material intouniform half of the head, and the material ismolded to amo n s for use wn loading h ld. A furconsiderable thickness in order to facilitate ce- Cr d Optional O j t of t e ve t/1 0 inmenting the halves together in edgeto edge concrease the convenience of handling the molding 15 tact.After' the cementing operation, the resultmaterial when practicing theprocess, and with ing rough edges are ground toremove irregularithis inView, the preferably measured or uniform ties and flash, after which awhitecement or amounts of molding material may be compressed filler isused to patch openings and recesses in and formed into tabletsespecially adapted by 20 the edges. This patching must be sandpapered,their configuration to be later directly placed in 20 and the entirehead, because of the roughness and my new molding apparatus without lossof time porosity of the material, is dipped in a heavy when performingthe process in a rapid and consize or glue to prepare it for receivingthe spray tinuous manner. This step is convenient, but painting andfinal finishing. dispensible rather than essential.

The object of the present inventionis to gener- To produce the desireddense and flawless prod- 25 ally improve the foregoing process and tooveruct, it is essential to avoid porosity and blowcome its obviousdifficulties in manufacture and holes due to entrapped steam or othergases gendeficiencies in product. More particularly, some erated duringthe pressing and baking operation. objects of the present invention areto shorten Accordingly, further objects of the present inthe molding andfinishing time needed to ,provention are to avoid these defects andpermit a 80 duce a complete head; to avoid the cementing of perfectlyfree escape of gases from the mold durhalves of the head together; aswell as to avoid ing the molding operation, and yet at the same thegrinding, patching, and sandpapering opertime to avoid such rupture ofthe product being ations of the present practice. These objects are moded as would be Caused y an actua es.) fulfilled by molding the completedolls head in a chanical or forcible separation of the halves of 85single molding operation, and accordingly a prithe mold for anappreciable distance- O p mary object of the present invention is todevise a y. t pressing D includes heating a process and apparatus makingit possible t and intermittently pressing the halves of the mold thusmold a complete dolls head in a single moldogether by a Se ies of presseach bringing the -lu m operation, in a rapid expeditious halves of themold progressively nearer together 40 nomical manner. until the mold isclosed, the pressure between or The dolls head produced by the priorpractice upo the a v o the moldv being t O y 9- is rough and porous, andconsequently must be lieved, but actually opposed between thesuccestreated with size before it can be properly finished. sivepressings, S as to freely Permit the escape This difliculty has led tothe suggestion of molding of steam or other gases generated in theheated the head out of some better material than the material, but inthe meantime the halves of the ordinary wood pulp and starch mixture,as, for mold are in no way mechanically or forcibly pulled example,phenolic condensation products, with a apart or separated for asubstantial distance. Of view to obtaining accurate. dimension andsmooth course, the halves of the mold may be very slightly finish, butsuch materials are exceedingly costly. moved apart by the escaping steamitself during 13 Claims.

This invention relates to dolls, and more particularly to a novelapparatus for molding dolls heads or like products.

Dolls heads as heretofore manufactured are universally molded in twohalves, a front or face half, and a back half. The head is molded of acheap mixture made of wood pulp or wood flour, starch, a little resin,and water, a quantity of which is placed between gas heated molds, and

Another important object of the present invention is to so mold thedolls head, or, for that matter hard, dense and compact in structure,strong and I of the mold with consequent rupture of the embryo headwithin the mold.

' openings.

The aforesaid intermittent pressing and heating operation may, forconvenience, be called a steaming operation, and takes place preliminaryto or as the first part only of the complete baking operation needed toproduce the finished product. A further and important object of thepresent invention is to greatly reduce the time in which a mold must bekept in the press, so that the heads may bemolded in rapid successionwhile using only a single press. To this end, Ifind it feasible anddesirable to perform only the steaming operation in the press and tolock the mold at the end of the steaming operation, after which the moldmay be quickly transferred into a separate baking oven for the remainderof the baking period.

The conventional head as heretofore molded does not include eyeopenings, but instead these openings are long afterward punched in thehead and subsequently frazed-operations which, are troublesome and yetwhich do not produce accurate spacing and alignment of the resulting eyeThere are a number of reasons why these openings are not molded directlyin the head, one of which is that dipping of the head in a thick size ormixture of glue and filler is troublesome and difficult not only becauseit tends to fill the head, but, even more importantly, because the thickliquid would cover the surface of the eye sockets as well as thelocalities provided for the mounting of the eye set, and would clog upthese surfaces and impair proper mechanical operation of the eye set.With the present product, no heavy sizing is needed, and consequentlythe finishing coat may be thin and therefore may be applied with a spraygun instead of by dipping. The spraying process in itself is sufficientto prevent entry of the paint on the surface of the sockets, but even ifthe paint does coat the sockets, and, in fact, even if a dipping processis used instead of a spray gun, the resulting coating is thin and doesnot change the form of the surfaces in question to sufficient extent toimpair the mechanical operation of the eyes. Obviously the prior artproduct with its rough porous surfaces and crude cemented seam madeessential the now dispensible dipping or sizing operation to which thehead was subjected, as described at the beginning of this specification.Further objects of the present invention are to eliminate punching andfrazing of eye openings, and to make possible the molding, of eye or/andmouth openings directly in the dolls head; to make such openingsaccurate in size, spacing, and alignment; and, if desired, to directlymold special mounting means within the dolls head for subsequentlyreceiving and supporting the movable eyes or eye set for the eyeopenings.

The molding in a single operation of a complete dolls head obviouslyrequires some form of destructible core. Attempts heretofore made to usea collapsible core have never proved successful or commercial, andaccordingly additional important objects of the present invention are toprovide a process and apparatus involving the use of a destructible coreof a practical type, and particularly the use of a fusible core; to:make possible accurate location of the fusible core within the mold witha view to producing a thin-walled head; to'make possible rapidproduction of the cores, each being used only a single time; to devise aconvenient method for melting the core from the head and for readilyrecovering and reusing the molten metal; toprovide a final maximumcompression of the molded substance before removing the core therefrom;and to fuse the core as a direct continuation of the baking process, sothat the heat of baking may be used for fusing the core, and conversely,the heat used for fusing the core may be applied as an effective part ofthe baking operation.

Further objects of the present invention center particularly about theprovision of a wholly continuous and substantially automatic process andapparatus for making dolls heads in the manner outlined, in a rapid anduninterrupted series by large-scale machine production.

Ihe more detailed specification which follows is a continuation of myapplication Ser. No. 591,947, filed Feb. 10, 1932.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the apparatus elements andtheir relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularlydescribed in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims.The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned elevation illustrative of apparatus forpracticing the process of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken in the plane of the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken in the plane of the line 33 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partially sectioned plan view of a mold particularlydesigned for the practice of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a partially sectioned side elevation of the same;

' Fig. 6 is a section taken in the plane of the line B-6 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the lower half of the mold with thecore-supporting arbor in elevated position;

Fig. 8 is an auxiliary heating unit designed for use with thecore-supporting arbor;

Fig. 9 is illustrative of a preformed tablet of wood flour moldingmaterial for use in the molding operation;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged elevation of the lowerator end of the apparatus;

Fig. 11 is a section in the plane of the line H-l| of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a section in the plane of the line l2l2 in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged elevation of the elevator end of the apparatus;

Fig. 14 is a section in the plane of the line l-M of Fig. 15; and

Fig. 15 is a section in the plane of the line |5l5 of Fig. 13.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 4 through '7thereof, the present invention is preferably practiced by the use of amold such as is there illustrated. This mold comprises, generally, alower half l2, an upper half 14, a non-fusible core-supporting arbor IS,a non-fusible core portion I8, and a fusible core 29. the drawings. Byway of introduction, it may be stated that large numbers of the fusiblecore 20 are produced by a simple die-casting operation, and that afusible core is slipped onto the core-supporting arbor l6 for eachmolding operation, the fusible core being subsequently melted Top andbottom plates have been omitted in from the finished head at the end ofthe baking operation. The remainder of the mold other than fusible core20 is, of course, indestructible and used repeatedly and indefinitely.

Mold I2 is supported by and may be formed integrally with a bolster 22,while mold 14 may similarly be supported by and formed integrally with abolster 24. The lower mold is provided at diagonally opposite cornerswith projections 26 in which rods or dowel pins 28 of ample size arepermanently secured. The upper half of the die is similarly providedwith mating projections 30 bored to receive dowel pins 28 with anaccurate sliding fit. The arrangement shown insures perfect alignment ofthe upper and lower halves of the mold, even when the same are separatedby a considerable space, as at the very beginning of the moldingoperation.

Core-supporting arbor l6 may be removably related to the mold in anumber of ways, that here shown consisting in a pivotal mounting at theaxis 32. The arbor is itself made rigid and strong, and it is rigidlyand .accurately mounted on the mold by means of a barrel 34 thebifurcated trail or legs 35 of which are supported on the pin 32 itselfheld between bearings 38 on the lower half of the mold. When the mold isopen, the arbor may be swung from the position shown in Figs. 4, 5, and6 to theposition shown in Fig. '7, the upward movement being preferablylimited by stops 4!) on legs 36. The downward movement or operativeposition of the arbor may be accurately defined by pedestal 42 on thelower half of the mold cooperating with a stop 44 on the barrel 34.

The arbor i6 is provided with a non-fusible core portion 18 fixedlymounted thereon, and is further provided with a longitudinal keyway 50for cooperation with a mating key formed on fusible core 25. The axialposition of fusible core 2!] on arbor I6 is accurately, determined bythe non-fusible core portion !8, and the rotative position of fusiblecore 20 on arbor I6 is accurately determined by keyway and mating key50. Furthermore, the fit of core 20 on arbor I6 is made quite accurate;and to facilitate insertion and removal of the core, the arbor is givenconsiderable taper. It should also be noted that the arbor is madehollow and is preferably as thinwalled as possible compatible withrigidity and strength, this feature being intended to facilitate heatingof the core and baking of the head from within, as well as final fusionof the core.

The lower half of the mold preferably corresponds to the face or frontalportion of the dolls head, and may be provided with openings 52corresponding to the eye openings of the head, and a large clearance 54beneath openings 52 through wh ch the molten core metal may be drained.The mold is provided with looking or latch means to keep the same inclosed condition during the baking operation, said latch meanscomprising latch pins 58 located on the lower mold, and latches 53,pivotally mounted at 86, on the upper mold for engaging latch pins 56.Dowel pins 28 are preferably provided with compression springs 62between the halves of the mold, for a purpose subsequently described.The

meeting edges of the mold are preferably reduced in area, as is bestindicated at 63 in Fig. 6, in order to cleanly sever the exuded or flashmaterial. I

The material used for the dolls head may be the conventional cheap woodflour mixture employed heretofore. This mixture consists essentially ofwood pulp, starch, a small amount of resin, and dampening moisture. Inaccordance with one optional feature of the present invention, theamount of material used in the moldleft in place.

ing operation may be accurately determined and the material convenientlyhandled by preforming the measured quantities of the material intotablets. These tablets may assume any preferred shape, such as isillustrated in Fig. 9, in which the tablet 64 is in the form of a discor biscuit which is centrally dished so as to present a concave surface66 on one side, and a convex surface E8 on the opposite side. Byintroducing a slightly increased amount of moisture in the wood flourmixture, the tablets may be made self-sustaining, although, of course,they must be handled with reasonable care.

The molding operation, assuming fusible core 20 and the tablets to havebeen preliminarily made, consists essentially in placing a tablet 64 andtherefore a measured quantity of the molding material in the lower halfof the mold, swinging the core 20. and arbor l6 downwardly into thelower half of the mold on top of the molding material, placing anothertablet of molding material in inverted position on top of the core, andthen adding the upper half of the mold. The halves of the mold at thistime are separated by the molding material. The mold is heated to causethe molding mixture to react, and this is accompanied by evolution ofconsiderable gas, largely steam. During the heating of the mold, thehalves are intermittently pressed together by a series of pressings eachbringing the molds progressively nearer together until the closedcondition is reached, at which time latches 58 automatically engage andkeep the mold in closed condition. To facilitate the escape of gasesfrom the mold, the pressure on the mold is relieved between each of theaforesaid series of pressings. However, it is highly undesirable topermit blowing off of gases by actually lifting or elevating the upperhalf of the mold together with the press used to close the same, forthis tends to tear apart and rupture the molding material or embryo headat the parting face of the mold, so that the finished product is marredat the resulting seam. Instead, in accordance with the presentinvention, the compression springs 62 are provided between the halves ofthe mold, and these springs are so designed as to very nearly but notquite counteract the weight of the upper half of the mold. When thepressure is relieved between the series of pressings, the upper half ofthe mold is not elevated, but is simply Because of the absence ofpressure even to the extent of the weight of the upper half. of themold, the evolved gases may escape readily and freely. This in turnresults in the absence of blow-holes and flaws in the finished head, andat the same time no rupture or spoilage of the product takes place atthe parting line of the mold. The finally closed and locked mold maythen be baked for a suitable period, say five minutes, at an appropriatetemperature, preferably 250 to 300 F., after which the core 20 may bemelted from the mold. Heat is applied to the inside as well as theoutside of the head, for furnace heat is transmissible through hollowarbor IS. The baking temperature and time may be so interrelated that atthe end of the baking operation the temperature will somewhat exceed 300F., with consequent fusion of core 20.

In some cases, it may be desired to more widely separate the preferredbaking temperature of the molding material and the fusion temperature ofthe core, in which case fusion of the core may be aided by the directapplication of heat within arbor 16. For this purpose, an electricalresistance heating unit is provided, such a unit being shown in Fig. 8and being properly dimensioned so that it may be either temporarily orpermanently inserted within hollow arbor Hi. If left permanently in thearbor, it will be appreciated, of course, that the flow of current tothe resistor will be interrupted except when it is desired to melt outthe core from the baked head.

The molten metal from the core flows through openings 52 and 5A, and maybe caught in any suitable receptacle and re-used in a die-castingmachine of conventional type to form additional fused cores.

Because of. the accurate location of the core within the mold, andbecause there is no necessity to cement two halves together to form thehead, the head wall may be made quite thin and light. The product,however, is exceedingly strong, and can be broken with only the utmostdifiiculty, because the material hardens and sets into acompacthomogeneous solid which is nonporous, hard, smooth, and whollyunlike that heretofore produced from a wood fiour mixture such as hasbeen described. In fact, the resulting product resembles expensivematerials such as phenolic condensation products in the fineness andaccuracy of detail and smoothness of finish which may be obtained.Except for a slight grinding of an exceedingly thin flash or fin at theparting line of the mold, the head When removed from the mold isimmediately ready to receive spray paint and coloring, without anysizing operation. 7

The improved nature of the product is probably due to the fact that thematerial is steamed and subsequently baked at much higher pressures thanhave heretofore been used. This increased pressure is caused by theresistance to fiow of the molding material from its original tablet formto the full head shape, because with a thin Wall this resistance to flowis greatly increased. Furthermore, the thin wall results in morethorough baking throughout the material. The permitted free escape ofgas is probably also important. During the baking process, heat isadmitted to the core, and this consequently expands, therebyadditionally compressing the molding material as it is being baked.

' The head may be provided with eye openings, and these are accuratelyshaped, spaced, and located. The desired accurate location is obtainedwithout punching or frazing; is not affected by subsequent shrinkage orwarping; and consequently the movable eyes or eye set may be applieddirectly to the head without careful adjustment of the eyes. Theprovision of eye openings is made possible, first, because of the natureof the core and the molding process,

which does not necessitate extraction of the core in whole or in parts;and secondly, because the excellent finish of the material of the headmakes dipping of the head in size unnecessary. Furthermore, because ofthe destructible or fusible nature of the core used when molding thehead, there is no obstacle to the formation of peculiar undercuts,ridges or recesses within the dolls head. It is therefore possible tomold appropriate mounting means within the dolls head for receiving anypreferred form of eye set. In the present case, such mounting means havebeen generically indicated by the seats 19 (see Fig. 6) for receivingthe ends of the eye set. In the practice the exact form of the seatswill be determined by the kind of eye set to be later inserted.

In actual operation, the steps heretofore outlined are accuratelycontrolled in rapid series, and the heads are preferably made on a largescale by continuous automatic machine production. A machine layout forthis purpose is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings,

and the preferred mode of practicing the present invention will next bedescribed by reference thereto. Molds such as have already beendescribed are provided in sufficient number to fill the complete circuitof the machine or apparatus layout shown. The lower halves of the moldsi2 are loaded with cores and raw molding material while moving past aloading station 80, located between downwardly operating elevators 82and 85, which in this specification will, for convenience and brevity,be referred to as lowerators.

The lower halves of the mold l2 are moved by an endless conveyor 85operated by drivers 88. The lower mold I2 during its movement at theloading station 30 is provided with a fusible core 26, then a bottomtablet, after which the core is lowered and has placed thereon a toptablet of molding material, just as has already been described, the solediiference being that the mold is in motion and may, if desired, beloaded by several attendants each fulfilling a part of the loadingprocess. As the loaded mold reaches lowerator 84, it has added thereto amating upper mold M. The complete mold then passes through a press 90comprising an elongated stationary lower platen 92,- an elongatedvertically reciprocable upper platen 94, and appropriate mechanismincluding a drive shaft 95 and connecting rods 98 for operating theupper platen 94 through a predetermined limited stroke. These platensare preferably heated, as through electric or steam conductors D, andthe side faces are preferably enclosed by heat-retaining walls, notshown.

It should be carefully noted that the working face of upper platen 94 isstepped, rather than straight, and in the specific case here shown, sixsteps are provided, each difiering in elevation from the next precedingone by a small amount, say one-thirty-second of an inch. The movementsof conveyor 86 and press 90 are, of course, properly synchronized, sothat the mold is pressed while located squarely beneath each of thesteps of the press. Thus, when the loaded mold is first pressed, it isforced to within three-sixteenths of its completely closed position. Thepress is then opened, whereupon steaming or blowing off of gases ispermitted, as heretofore described, the upper half of the mold beingcounter-balanced by compression springs 28. When the mold reaches thesecond step of the press, it is closed as additional thirty-second of aninch, after which the pressure is again relieved and gases are permittedto blow off. This steaming process is repeated through a complete seriesof pressings, until at the end of the press the mold is finallycompletely closed. At this time the latches engage and the mold is keptin locked condition.

It will be understood that the speed of the press may be increased orthe speed of conveyor 86 decreased and arranged for slow intermittent orlong dwell operation, and the press and conveyor so synchronized thatthe mold will undergo two or even three pressings at each of the stepsof the press, thereby permitting a greatly increased number of alternatepressing and blowofi" periods in the complete operation of steaming andclosing the mold.

The closed and locked mold is then fed by conveyor 80 to an elevator I02. This elevator, like lowerators 82 and 84, preferably consists ofdrivers I04 located outside of conveyor 86. The arrangement is bestshown in Fig. 3, in which it will be observed that the elevator consistsof separate pairs of chains I02 passing over drivers I04 located outsideof horizontal conveyor 80. The molds are carried by elevator I02upwardly through the first portion I06 of a baking oven, the main partI08 of which extends horizontally over the apparatus heretoforedescribed, so that the molds are brought back to the loading station.

.When the molds reach the top of the driver of elevator I02, they aretransferred by means, not shown, to a horizontal conveyor IIO operatingover drivers II2. This conveyor carries the molds through oven I08 tothe completion of the desired baking operation. The timing of theapparatus and the length of the oven are so related that a desiredbaking time, say five minutes, is obtained.

The heating means for the oven is not shown, but may, for example,consist of a series of gas burners located along the walls of the oven.The baking temperature may be kept between 250 and 300 F., butpreferably is increased to about 350 F. near the end of the bakingoperation. This may be accomplished by adjusting the heat generatedwithin the oven, or by relying upon a time lag in the mold coming up tothe maximum temperature in the oven. In any case, as the molds reach thelatter portion of oven I08, the core 20, which meanwhile is amply heatedthrough hollow arbor I0, is heated beyond the baking temperature andreaches its fusion temperature and consequently begins to flow from themold. The molten metal thus discharged is collected by a trough I I4 atthe bottom of the oven terminating in a drain pipe I I6, which is leddirectly back to a nearby die-casting machine in which the cores 20 arebeing cast as rapidly as needed for the operation of the completeinstallation. The molds are fed by conveyor I I to lowerator 82 which,like elevator W2, is operated by outside drivers H8. Meanwhile, thelatches 58 are opened by camming rails or other appropriate mechanism,and the upper half of the mold is caught and retained and therebyseparated from the lower half of the mold at a point opposite trackwayI20. The lower half of the mold continues its downward travel inlowerator 82 until it is finally deposited upon conveyor 86, at which.time it is unloaded and again loaded during its passage through loadingstation 80, as has already been described. In the meantime, the upperhalf .of the mold is moved alongtrack I20 by appropriate means, hereshown as the lower half of the oven conveyor II 0. The upper halves ofthe mold are thereby transferred. to lowerator 84, operating on outsidedrivers I22, and finally are again deposited upon and rejoin the matingbottom mold. If the auxiliary electrical heating unit described inconnection with Fig. 8 is used during or near the end or" the bakingoperation, the said unit may be energized by current fed through atrolley wire system within oven I00, that is, each mold may be providedwith contacting elements which engage feed wires or tracks within theoven, and the time of heating of the resistance elements may bedetermined by the location and length of the said trolley or feed wires.

The foregoing relatively generalized description may be amplified withparticular reference to Figs. 10 to of the drawings which bring out 5details of the construction and mechanism which could not convenientlybe included in the figures of the drawings already referred to becauseof obvious limitations in the permissible scale or size of the drawings.These details include means for 10 insuring closing of the latches whenthe molds are closed, means for transferring the molds from the elevatorto the oven conveyor, means for transferring the molds from the ovenconveyor to the lowerator and for insuring precise center- 15 ing of themolds on the lowerator, means for opening the latches and for arrestingdownward movement of the top mold portion, means for insuring continueddownward movement (B the bottom mold portion in order to open the mold,and means for transferring the top mold portion to conveyor means formoving the same to the lowerator 84, thereby closing the mold andrepeating the molding cycle. 7

Referring to Figs. 13 and 15, the means for 2.5 insuring closing of themold latches comprises a pair of plungers I mounted for verticalreciprocation in appropriate spring housings I32 form ing a part of theupper press head 94 and located at the final or closing step thereof.The plungers I30 are located directly above the ends of latches 58, aswill be evident from inspection of Fig. 15, and are constantly urgeddownwardly by compression springs I34 contained within housing I32 andsurrounding the upward extension I36 of the plunger, the spring I34being compressed between the top of the housing and a collar I38 on theplunger. It will thus be evident that upon closing movement of thepress, the mold at the last step thereof is not only closed but islocked in 40 closed condition by reason of the pressure exerted byplungers I30 on latches 58.

It has already been mentioned that in Figs. 4,

5, and 6 the mold is incomplete by reason of the omission of top andbottom plates secured to the top and bottom halves of the mold andproviding outwardly projecting flanges. These top and bottom plates areclearly shown in Figs. 10 to 15 of the drawings and are respectivelynumbered 2I4 and 2I2. Inasmuch as these plates are relatively large inarea and cover the latches 58, they are cut away or recessed at I40 toprovide access to the latches not only for the closing movement lastdescribed but also for a camming opening movement to be described later.

During movement of the molds through the press to the elevator I02, thebottom plates 2I2 of the mold slide along appropriate guide rails I42,the molds being moved by the conveyor 86 which is preferably in the formof an endless chain carrying the spaced pusher lugs I44.

The elevator comprises four endless chains I02 passing about appropriatesprockets or sheaves I04, the pair of chains I02 on each side beingconnected by horizontal supports or angle irons I46, these being mostclearly shown in Fig. 14 and serving to keep the chain movement insynchronism and to maintain a uniform spacing of the chains. Theelevator I02 dwells or is at rest with a pair of supports or angle ironsI46 in alignment with the track I42 when the conveyor Biirnoves, therebypermitting the latter to move a mold directly from the track I42 ontothe supports I46. No precise centering of the mold on the chain isessential, and its location may be 76 the oven conveyor may beaccomplished, if desired, by a reciprocable pusher such as is shown atthe lowerator in Fig. 10, but in the present case is accomplished bymeans of a small auxiliary conveyor I best shown in Figs. 14 and 15. Theauxiliary conveyor I50 runs about appropriate drive sprockets or sheavesI52 which may conveniently be made equal in diameter to the sprockets II2 of the oven conveyor, in which case the sprockets may be run in 1 to1 ratio for synchronous movement of the oven conveyor I I0 and thetransfer conveyor I50. In practice it is simply necessary to gear thesprockets H2 and I52 together with simultaneous equal movement but inopposite directions, so that the conveyors I I0 and I50 will movesimultaneously and equally and in the same direction. In operation itwill be understood that the mold is transferred from the elevator to theoven conveyor while the elevator is stationary or dwelling, the dwellperiod bringing the supports or angle irons I46 in horizontal alignmentwith an appropriate oven track I80. Consequently, movement of the ovenconveyor moves the last mold on the track into the oven or to the leftas viewed in Fig. 13, and at the same time the topmost mold on theelevator is moved by the auxiliary or transfer conveyor I 50 from theelevator onto the track I60.

The transfer of the molds from the oven conveyor I I0 to the lowerator82 is accomplished by mechanism best shown in Figs. 10 and 11. For thispurpose it may be assumed that the lowerator is dwelling or at restwhile a mold is pushed onto the same by the oven conveyor H0, and, ofcourse, for this purpose the supports I62 of the I lowerator 82, whichinterconnect the pairs of side chains I64, are stopped in properhorizontal alignment with the track I60 of the oven. The oven conveyorIII), unlike the press conveyor 88, cannot be used to push the moldcompletely onto the supports I82 for the reasonthat the oven conveyormechanism in the course of its arcuate movement around the sprockets orsheaves II 2 must clear or escape the lowerator 82 and the molds carriedthereby. In other words, whereas the elevator moves the molds upwardlyout of the way of the press conveyor, the lowerator 82, moves the moldsdownwardly past the end of the oven conveyor. Furthermore, a precise andaccurate location of the molds on the lowerator is desired in order toinsure proper cooperation with mechanism later described.

To accomplish the desired result, the oven conveyor is moved as near tothe lowerator as conveniently possible, thereby moving the molds nearlybut not entirely into central position on subsequent opening movement ofthe mold, the

supports I62 on lowerator 82 are preferably different from the simpleangle iron supports used on the elevator, by reason of the provision ofa top flange which serves to move the mold downward in a positivemanner. This feature is best shown in Fig. 11 referring to which it willbe observed that the supports I62 include not only bottom and side wallsfor receiving and guiding the marginal edges of the bottom plate 2 I2 ofthe mold, but also top walls I12 which encompass the edges of the bottomplate. In other words, the supports receiving the bottom plate arechannelshaped rather than L-shaped. Furthermore,

there is a depending wall I14 which extends from one chain to the otheron each side of the mold and serves to space and rigidify the loweratormechanism, this inwardly displaced connecting member I14 being desirablebecause the channel-shaped supports I02 are cut away or interruptedbetween the chains for reasons later described. The cutting away of themiddle part of channels I 62 is evident from inspection of Figs. 10 and12.

As the topmost mold on lowerator v82 leaves the camming members I10, thelatches 58 are opened by camming rails I16 which are in alignment withand pass through the slots or recesses I40 on the top and bottom platesof the mold, thereby bringing the same into bearing relation against therounded arms of mold latches 58 and causing the same to be swung open.

The mold is opened by arresting the movement of the top mold portionwhile permitting continued downward movement of the bottom mold portion.This is accomplished by a pair of stop members I which project into thelowerator mechanism from each side between the chains IE4, as is shownin all three of Figs. 10, 11, and 12. The stop members I80 lie in 513118path of the marginal portions of top plate 2M and arrest movementthereof. The bottom plate 2I2 is dimensioned to freely pass the topmembers I80, and it is for this reason that the ends of the bottom plateare cut away or recessed as is shown at I82 in Fig. 10. It is also forthis reason that the supporting members or channels I62 of the loweratormechanism are cut away between the chains I64, forming simple endportions interconnected and rigidified by the connecting bottom stripsI14 already referred to.

The bottom mold portion is carried downwardly from the lowerator untilit reaches horizontal alignment with the stationary bottom or presstrack I42 at the loading station 80, at which time the lowerator dwellsand the press conveyor 86 moves, thereby transferring the bottom moldportion from the lowerator to the loading station.

The top mold portion is transferred from the stop members I80 to astationary guide rail I20 by means of a horizontally reciprocable pushermember I00 slidable in a fixed bearing I92 mounted on the frame of theapparatus. This pusher member is so located as to bear against the endof a top mold portion I 4 resting upon the stop members I80, so thatinward reciprocation of the plunger moves the mold toward the right, atwhich time its leading edge is received by the guide track I20. Thepusher I may move simultaneously with and in synchronism with the ovenconveyor H0, thereby feeding the top mold portion smoothly intoengagement with the conveyor.

Pusher I90 is reciprocated by an arm I94 pivoted at I98 and normallyheld in outward position by an appropriate spring I88. The arm I94carries a bell crank cam follower arm 200 the cam follower roller 202 ofwhich cooperates with a cam 204. Cam 204 is rotated by a shaft 206geared in desired manner to the mechanism operating the press and ovenconveyor.

The top mold portions l4 are moved along the guide or track I20 by thelower section of conveyor H0 until they reach the lowerator 84. It willbe understood that transfer from track I20 to lowerator 84 isaccomplished while the lowerator is dwelling or at rest and with thesupports 2") of the lowerator in horizontal alignment with the trackI20. The top mold portions are then moved downwardly by the lowerator,which resembles the lowerator 82 in comprising pairs of sprockets orsheaves I22 on each side of the horizontal conveyor mechanism. Lowerator84 finally deposits the top mold portion 12 upon the bottom mold portionM at the end of the loading station 80, this being accomplished, ofcourse, while the press conveyor is at rest. The subsequent horizontalmovement of the press conveyor then carries not only the bottom moldportion H but also the mating top mold portion l2 into the press, themold portions being held together and in alignment by the dowel pins 28heretofore described.

It will be recollected, of course, that during the intermittent movementof the bottom mold portions past the loading station 80, the finishedhead is removed from the mold and the mold is loaded with appropriatetablets of molding material and with a destructible core 20 which isapplied to the tapered arbor I6.

In general, it will be understood that the driving mechanism for themold moving system is so arranged that the horizontal press, oven, andtransfer conveyors are moved simultaneously, equally, andintermittently, the movement taking place while the elevator andlowerators are at rest and while the press is open; and that theelevator and lowerators are moved simultane ously, equally, andintermittently, the movement taking place while the horizontal conveyorsare at rest and while the press is closed or exerting pressure on themolds therein.

To briefly summarize the operation of the apparatus, a bottom moldportion is loaded with a fusible core and with molding material atloading station 00', after which the cover portion is applied to themold by lowerator 84 whereupon the mold is moved intermittently throughthe stepped press. In the stepped press the mold portions areprogressively moved together until the mold is closed, at which time itis latched and kept closed. Between the successive progressive closingmovements the pressure of the press is released from the mold and eventhe weight of the top portion of the mold is largely relieved, therebypermitting free venting of gases from the heated molding material. Thelocked mold is then elevated to the oven conveyor whereupon it is movedthrough the oven wherein the head is baked and progressively heateduntil finally the fusible core melts and runs out through the eye'or/and mouth openings and is collected for re-use. The mold is thentransferred to lowerator 82, and in the course of descent the latchesare opened and the top mold portion is separated from the bottom moldportion, the top mold portion being pushed onto guide track 120 andthence to the mold-closing lowerator 84, while the bottom portion isforced downwardly t the press conveyor by which, it is moved through theloading station where the head is removed and the mold again loaded.

It is believed that the present invention and the many advantagesthereof, will, for the most part, be apparent from the foregoingdetailed description. It makes possible continuous automatic machineproduction of dolls heads at a rapid rate. The heads produced are moldedin a single operation and dispense with the necessity of cementingseparate halves together and consequent grinding, patching, andsandpaperig steps. The nature of the material of the resulting head iswholly different from that heretofore produced, although'using for rawmaterial the conventional cheap wood flour or pulp mixture. The presentproduct is hard, dense, exceedingly strong, accurately defined, andcharacterized by a smooth finish. The wall of the head may be made thinand light, and yet is almost unbreakable. It is so smooth that paintingand finishing colors may be applied directly to the surface without asizing or dipping operation. Consequently, mouth or eye openings may beformed in the head, and such openings are formed directly while moldingand may be made exceedingly accurate in configuration and location, sothat besides dispensing with punching and frazing operations, anaccurate fit with the eye set may be obtained. Mounting means for theeye set, regardless of the desired shape and type, may readily beprovided, for the core need not be retractible' from the head, butinstead is melted out. The raw material used in the molding operation ispreferably formed into tablets, and this accurately defines the quantityof material used, as well as increases the convenience with which thelower and upper halves of the mold may be loaded with the moldingmaterial. 'The factors of pressure, time, and temperature involvedthroughout the process may be kept absolutely uniform, so that theproduct will be reproducible and uniform. The steaming and pressingoperation which is applied to the molding material before the mold isclosed, locked and baked, insures complete discharge of volatileproducts formed by reaction of the molding mixture under heat andpressure, and the product is consequently entirely free of blow-holes,flaws, or even porosity, and instead is an impervious,

almost polished product. This desirable complete discharge or blowingoff of gases during the steaming process is greatly aided by removingthe weight of the mold during the blow-off periods, and yet the halvesof the mold are not mechanically separated with consequent injury of theembryo head at the parting face of the mold.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my inventionin preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in thestructure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention,defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A mold for the molding of a complete hollow dolls head, said moldcomprising separable top and bottom portions, the bottom portioncorresponding to the face of the head and being provided with eye andmouth openings, an indestructible tapered corelocating arbor extendingthrough the neck opening of the head, a low temperature fusible metalcore on said arbor and having projections fitting the aforesaid openingsand adapted to form eye and mouth openings in the head, pins extendingfrom the bottom mold into the top mold for aligning the same, latchmeans for locking the mold in closed condition, top and bottom platessecured on the backs of the top and bottom molds respectively andproviding substantial outwardly projecting flanges for cooperation withappropriate mold moving guides, said plates being cut away in alignmentwith the aforesaid latch means and said bottom plate being additionallycut away relative to the top plate to permit arresting of the top plateby supports which pass the bottom plate, thereby opening the mold.

2. Molding apparatus comprising a heated press having elongatedrelatively movable heads one of which is stepped to progressivelydiminish the spacing therebetween, a separable mold, a baking ovenseparate from said press, means to relatively reciprocate the heads ofthe press, and means for moving the mold through the press in order toprogressively move the mold portions together until closed, whereby thepressure on the mold is relieved between the progressive closingmovements, and means for transferring the closed mold to the oven.

3. Apparatus for the molding of a hollow doll part out of theconventional wood pulp and starch material, comprising a heated presshaving elongated relatively movable heads one of which is stepped toprogressively diminish the spacing therebetween, a separable moldincluding a destructible core, and latch means for locking the mold inclosed condition, a baking oven separate from said press, means torepeatedly open and close the press, and conveyor means for moving themold through the press in the direction of diminished spacing in orderto progressively close the mold portions together until locked, theopening movements of the press causing the pressure on the mold to berelieved between the progressive closing movements, and additionalconveyor means for transferring the heated locked mold to the oven.

4. Apparatus for the molding of a complete hollow dolls head out of theconventional wood pulp and starch material in a single operation,comprising a heated press having elongated relatively movable heads oneof which is stepped to progressively diminish the spacing therebetween,a

separable mold including a. destructible core and latch means forlocking the mold in closed condition, a baking oven separate from saidpress,

means to repeatedly open and close the press, and conveyor means formoving the mold through the press in the direction of diminished spacingin order to progressively close the mold portions together until locked,the opening movements of the press causing the pressure on the mold tobe, relieved between the progressive closing movements, additionalconveyor means for transferring the heated locked mold to the oven inorder to bake the head, means to open the mold to empty and refill thesame, and means to again close and move the mold through the press,thereby repeating the molding cycle. 7

5. Molding apparatus comprising a press, a separable mold, a baking ovenlocated above the press, a first conveyor for moving the mold throughthe press, a second conveyor for moving the mold through the oven, anelevator at the exit end of the press for elevating the mold from thepress conveyor to the oven conveyor, a lowerator at the exit end of theoven for lowering the mold from the oven conveyor to the press conveyor,means for arresting downward movement of the top mold portion in orderto open the mold, to permit imptying and refilling of the mold, andmeans to replace the top mould portion on the bottom mold portion torepeat the molding cycle.

6. Molding apparatus comprising a press, a separable mold, a baking ovenlocated above the press, a first conveyor for moving the mold past aloading station and through the press, a second conveyor for moving themold through the oven, an elevator at the exit end of the press forelevating the mold from the press conveyor to the oven conveyor, alowerator at the exit end of the oven for lowering the mold from theoven conveyor to the press conveyor, means for arresting downwardmovement of the top mold portion, a lowerator located at the entrant endof the press, and means to move the top mold to said lowerator, wherebyit is again placed upon the mating bottom mold leaving the loadingstation, to repeat the molding cycle.

7. Molding apparatus comprising a press having elongated relativelymovable heads one of which is stepped from the entrant to the exit endto progressively diminish the spacing therebetween, means to repeatedlyopen and close the press, a separable mold, an elongated baking ovenlocated above the press, a first horizontal conveyor for moving the moldpast a loading station and through the press from the entrant to theexit end thereof in order to progressively force the mold portionstogether until closed, a second horizontal conveyor for moving the moldthrough the oven, an elevator at the exit end of the press for elevatingthe mold from the press conveyor to the oven conveyor, a lowerator atthe exit end of the oven for lowering the mold from the oven conveyor tothe press conveyor, means for arresting downward movement of the topmold portion, a lowerator located at the entrant end of the press, andmeans to move the top mold to said lowerator, whereby it is again placedupon the mating bottom mold leaving the loading station, to repeat themolding cycle.

8. Apparatus for the molding of a hollow doll part out of theconventional wood pulp and starch material in a single operation,comprising a heated press having elongated relatively movable heads oneof which is stepped from the entrant to the exit end to progressivelydiminish the spacing therebetween, means to repeatedly open and closethe press, a separable mold including a destructible core, and latchmeans for locking the mold in closed condition, an elongated baking ovenlocated above the press, a first horizontal conveyor for moving the moldpast a loading station and through the press from the entrant to theexit end thereof in order to progressively close the mold portionstogether until locked, the pressure on the mold being relieved betweenthe progressive closing movements, a second horizontal conveyor formoving the mold through the oven, an elevator at the exit end of thepress for elevating the mold from the press conveyor to the ovenconveyor, a lowerator at the exit end of the oven for lowering the moldfrom the oven conveyor to the press conveyor, means for opening thelatches and arresting downward movement of the top mold portion, alowerator located at the entrant end of the press, and means to move thetop mold to said lowerator, whereby it is again placed upon the matingbottom mold leaving the loading station, to repeat the molding cycle.

9. Apparatus for the molding of a complete hollow dolls head out of theconventional wood pulp and starch material in a single operation,comprising a heated press having elongated relatively movable heads oneof which is stepped from the entrant to the exit end to progressivelydiminish the spacing therebetween, a separable mold including a lowtemperature fusible core, resilient means partially relieving the weightof the top mold: portion, and latch means for looking. the mold inclosed condition, an elongated baking oven located above the press, afirst horizontal conveyor for moving the mold past a loading station andthrough the press from the entrant to the exit end thereof in order-toprogressively close the mold portions together until locked, thepressure on the mold being relieved between the progressive closingmovements, a

second horizontal conveyor for moving the mold through the oven in orderto bake the head and melt out the core, means for collecting anddraining the fused core metal, an elevator at the exit end of the pressfor elevating the mold from the press conveyor to the oven conveyor, alowerator at the exit end of the oven for lowering themold from the ovenconveyor to the press conveyor, means for opening the latches andarresting downward movement of the top mold portion, a lowerator locatedat the entrant end of the press,

1 and means to move the top mold to said lowerator, whereby it is againplaced upon the mating bottom mold leaving the loading station, torepeat the molding cycle.

10. Molding apparatus comprising a press, a

separable mold, a baking oven located above the' press, a press conveyorfor moving the mold through the press, an oven conveyor for moving themold through the oven, an elevator at the exit end of the press forelevating the mold from the press conveyor to the oven conveyor, alowerator at the exit end of the oven'for lowering the lower half of themold from the oven conveyor to the press conveyor, means at saidlowerator for separating the top mold portion from the bottom moldportion, in order to permit emptying and refilling of the mold, andmeans to replace the top mold portion on the bottom mold portion torepeat the molding cycle.

11. Molding apparatus comprising a press, a separable mold, a bakingoven located above the press, a press conveyor for moving the mold pasta loading station and through the press, an oven conveyor for moving themold through the oven, an elevator at the exit end of the press forelevating the mold from the press conveyor to the oven upon the matingbottom mold leaving the loading v station, to repeat the molding cycle.

12. Molding apparatus comprising a press having elongated relativelymovable heads one of which is stepped from the entrant to the exit endto progressively diminish the spacing therebetween, a separable mold, anelongated baking oven located above the press, a first horizontalconveyor for moving the mold past a loading station and through thepress from the entrant to the exit end thereof in order to progressivelyforce the mold portions together until closed, whereby the pressure onthe mold is relieved between the tal conveyor for moving the moldthrough the oven, an elevator at the exit end of the press for elevatingthe mold from the first or press conveyor to the second or ovenconveyor, a lowerator at the exit end of the oven for lowering thebottom mold from the second or oven conveyor to the first or pressconveyor, means to separate the top and bottom molds before reaching thepress conveyor, a lowerator located at the entrant end of the press, andmeans to move the top mold to said latter lowerator, whereby it is againplaced upon the mating bottom mold leaving the loading station, torepeat the molding cycle.

13. Apparatus for the molding of a complete hollow dolls head in asingle operation, comprising a heated press having elongated relativelymovable heads one of which is stepped from the entrant to the exit endto progressively diminish the spacing therebetween, means to repeatedlyopen and close the press, a separable mold including a low temperaturefusible core, latch means for locking the mold in closed condition, a.baking oven separatefrom the press, means for moving the mold throughthe press to progressively close the, mold portions together untillocked, and means for transferring the closed mold to the oven in orderto bake the head and fuse the core during the baking operation.

LEO J. GRU'BMAN.

20 progressive closing movements, a second horizon-

